Reviews

My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley

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victoriayates's review against another edition

3.0

Probably should be 4 star for the quality of the writing and accuracy of observations but my goodness this book was so depressing! If like me you are the adult child of divorced baby-boomers you will be only too familiar with the puzzling complexities of this generation's idiosyncratic failings that Riley astutely captures on every page. However, I failed to see the overall point of this short novel. The author seems to be saying, this is how such people are, this is how it affects relationships, this is how it can be....and most depressingly, this is how it all ends! If it wasn't so familiar, so uncannily accurate this would be a 2 star :(

motherbooker's review against another edition

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4.0

The relationship between parents and their children has always been a great source of material for writers and Gwendoline Riley knows this better than many. Her books often deal with millennials trying to break free of their boomer parents. In My Phantoms, Bridget Grant is haunted by her past. She is the daughter of separated parents and has struggled to leave her traumatic childhood behind. She barely sees her mother these days and her father has been dead a few years but they still have an inescapable hold over her. My Phantoms is told in the first person so we only get Bridget's perspective on the matter. We quickly learn that she's not the most reliable narrator and her view of the past might not be entirely trustworthy.

It's difficult to know who to feel sorry for in this book. It's easy to feel as though the narrator is the person we should connect to but Bridget is a hard person to like. She talks us through her childhood and the way her father treated her. She describes her flighty and distracted mother, Helen. It all sounds pretty dire and you can see why she wanted to escape. However, the more time you spend with her, the more you realise that Bridget might not deserve all our sympathy. As we spend time with Helen, or Hen to her friends, we meet an insecure and desperate-to-please woman. She tries so hard with her daughter but Bridget is so unresponsive. Not only does she keep her life away from her mother but she keeps it away from the reader. It is the mother or the daughter that is really in need of our sympathy?

I really enjoy books that are light on plot and big on character. That's why I love Gwendoline Riley's writing. She knows how to write memorable and emotionally charged books about damaged women. Bridget has removed herself from all emotional bonds. The only times we meet her boyfriend, he offers a psychoanalyst's eyes rather than a loving partner. When Bridget is on the phone with Helen, she gives vague answers that you might expect to hear from a mental health professional, not your daughter. Yes, there might not be a lot of action here but every exchange is dripping with meaning. This is a short but complex read that is so easy to dig your teeth into.

The writing is also absolutely beautiful. Nothing is spared here and Riley continues her trend of making every word count. She understands how to create characters that resonate on the page and really brings them to life. The difference between Bridget and Helen is fantastic. Helen, who has been burned by love so many times, remains hopeful whenever she meets someone new. On the other hand, Bridget has settled into a comfortable relationship with a man she refuses to introduce to her mother. They have both suffered at the hands of the same man but the two women have dealt with the past in different ways. It's an interesting dynamic that makes this book such an intense and haunting read.

winter94's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

brannonkrkhuang's review against another edition

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5.0

Oh damn this is a good book. It was painful though, as these things are.

aumendy's review against another edition

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challenging dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

arizonas's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Reading this was like being in an emotional vice, slowly tightening before dropping me into a dark quarry. Exactly what I want to experience from a book.